For her long-term efforts to advance women in higher education, President Judy Genshaft of the University of South Florida System has won a prestigious recognition from the American Council on Education.

The annual Donna Shavlik Award, named for a long-serving ACE director, honors those who make helping women in higher education a priority, through leadership, career development, mentoring and campus climate.

“Judy Genshaft has worked tirelessly and effectively to develop the next generation of women leaders,” ACE President Molly Corbett Broad said in a news release. “She is an inspiring role model and frequent mentor through her own achievements and her sustained commitment to creating paths to success for so many others.”

Genshaft will receive the award in March at ACE’s 99th annual meeting. As the major coordinating body for American higher education institutions, the group represents nearly 1,800 college and university presidents and associations and works to influence public policy.

ACE highlighted USF’s rapid growth under Genshaft’s leadership since 2000, particularly its burgeoning reputation for academics, research and innovation.

In 2005, Genshaft co-founded USF’s Women in Leadership and Philanthropy program to educate members on women’s initiatives both at USF and beyond.

She also served as the first female chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I Board, was named the 2007 Business Woman of the Year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and received the Tampa World Trade Center’s Betty Castor Lifetime Achievement Award. Genshaft has also been honored for improving the quality of life in the Hispanic community.

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